Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by BeerWizard:

First tried this a few years back and wasn't wowed by it, which made it all the more surprising trying it again and finding it so enjoyable.

Package says it is brewed with fresh hops, and bottle art is officially seasonal in red and green with some nutcracker teeth and 'stache. Body is a rusty brown-orange with heavy suspended, grainy sediment, and a shortish, off-white head. Nose is super-hoppy, tropical fruit, citrus, a tad sour - just yeasty. Flavor is citrusy, perfect sweet-malt balance for me. Mouthfeel is medium to heavy, moderate carbonation.

Stylistically it throws me - it's like a fresh-hop-dubbel, which I've never heard of, but I like the shit out of it. Overall, pretty masterful, and one of my favorites from this year.

More User Reviews:

Poured a rich tawny color with a huge billowing crown that held for a very long time,finally settling into a frothy mass after leaving globs of soap scum lookin stuff behind.Spicy hop and caramel malt come together well,it has to be chinooks to give off such a spicy note in its hop profile,very nice.A nice mix of winter spice,clove,cinnamon,nutmeg,candied orange peel,and again that hop spiciness,a sweet but not overly sweet caramle base holds true to the finish.Each year I say Iam gonna get some of this stuff,this year I finally did and Iam glad I did,this for my money is one of the best winter warmer's out there.

A moderate pour of this beer produces a huge burnt cream head that takes up almost half of my pint glass. It is hard to tame and retains a good 1 1/2 inch layer all the wat yo the end. Hiding beneath this beastly head is a cloudy, true amber colored beer. There is a never-ending supply of lightning-fast little bubbles racing to the surface to feed the head and they never seem to exhaust thier supply of carbonation.

The nose is sugar, old hops, spicy hops, and honey. This is a very sugary but spicy brew with a subtle medley of spices (notably cinnamon), orange, brown sugar, and spicy/ herbal hops.

The mouthfeel is mid-wieght and amazingly creamy. Despite all the apparent carbonation, it doesn't really come through in the mouthfeel somehow. Another curious quality of this beer seem to concerns drinkability. It seemed like every sip I took of this beer just made me thirstier. Not like "wow that was good I want more" thirsty so much as "bring me some damn water" thirsty. Does this make a beer "drinkable" I don't know.

That aside, this was a really interesting beer anda great approach to the winter warmer. It is complex, warming, and festive without being heavy, thick, slick, or overwhelmingly boozy. Not what I'd call "balanced" but very enjoyable none the less.

12oz bottle, best by 2/15/11. Pours a bright hazy copper chestnut color with a medium creamy off white head that retains fairly well and laces the glass.

The aroma is resiny, fruity, slightly perfumey hops with some bready caramel/toffee malts.

The flavor is caramel malts, nuts and a little molasses with some bright resiny fruity hops in the finish. As it warms, a lot more fruitiness comes out. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.

Overall, a nice surprise. It's very well balanced and has some nice bright hoppiness. I'll have to add this to the list to get each winter.

Poured from the typical short 12oz. Blvd. bottle into the ubiquitous Guinness glass.

A - Amber color, not a whole lot of head, a little bit of lacing here and there.

S - Piney hops, a little bit of sweetness here and there.

T - Cedar/pine/citrus hops upfront, nice generic Christmas-y spice. Little bit of metallic hop aftertaste, that's a bit odd.. Malt isn't all that prevalent at first, but it shows up later. Just enough to be balanced against the hops, but not much more.. then it sticks around for awhile. That's okay though.

M - Good carbonation in the beer, mmm. both the malt & hops stick around for awhile.. seems to really favor the piney hops. Its a bit odd.. although there isn't a ton of head upfront, the carbonation is pretty well-integrated into the beer. The malt isn't all that strong while drinking, but it catches up in the end.

D - I like this more than in years past. Maybe I just didn't appreciate it before, others have said its a bit different than before. Don't care, I like it this year. Can't have more than a couple though, the lingering sweetness gets to be a bit much. Hard to stop at one, hard to keep going after two. I'll be buying another sixer of this one, this year.

My second Boulevard, thanks to babydoc. This one pours a muddy brown(unfiltered) body with a 1 cm beige head that disperses some nice patchy lace. Aroma is malty and spicy, with notes of chocolate, caramel, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Some grassy hops are picked up in the background. Very pleasant in the mouth, with an ideal carbonation and tingly body. Taste is quite pleasant, with malty chocolate and caramel maltiness melding with grassy and pine hops, a hint of hazelnut, and some cinnamon and nutmeg. Although I cook with fresh spices, I have been deceived before by noting the definite presence of spices that were actually hops, as may be the case here. This is an excellent winter warmer that is quite well constructed. I wish Boulevard could expand their distribution a bit, so more of us could enjoy their fine brews.

Poured deep amber/copper with lightly tanned, very creamy head. Holds the head well.

Nose: Spicy, slightly piney. Not too overpowering on the hop aroma, but that is almost all you get.

Taste: Medium bodied, well-balanced at the front end. However the hops linger on the tongue after the malt sweetness fades away. Lingers for a while, drying out the mouth slightly.

Overall: A good beer experience. The flavor really changes with the temperature. In my opinion, a bit smoother at lower temps. With higher temps, you get more of the hop/alcohol bite, not necessarily a negative thing.

The beer pours a hazy brown color with a cream-colored head. The aroma is heavy on the toffee malt and piney hops. The hop presence is a lot heavier than I remembered from when I had it in previous years. The flavor is grassy and piney hops, along with caramel and toffee. I also get some cinnamon and clove notes. Low overall bitterness, but quite a bit of hop flavor. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Amber to brown in color with a lot of suspended minuscule sediment within the body gives it a murky complexion. A half inch of tightly knit beige head is present. I smell light malt and perhaps hazlenut. The flavor is more of a nutty fare with gentle citrus dry hopping. The body is fairly smooth and dry.

Appearance: Pours a somewhat hazy copper amber orange with a lot of rising bubbles. Huge five finger off white head with good retention. Leaves a lot of lacing around the glass.

Smell: A spicy hop driven aroma with a solid malt backbone. Lively mix of hops with hints of citrus orange, pineapple, mango, and grapefruit. A good amount of earthy and spicy pine resin. Not to be outdone, the bready malts add a nice balancing sweetness with hints of caramel, toffee, biscuit, and soft cracker. Also a little brown sugar in the mix. A really nice and unique aroma for the style.

Taste: Like the aroma hints, a solid mix of spicy and citrus hops along with a sweet bready malt presence. Upfront is a taste of earthy, spicy piney hops and some citrus orange, mango, pineapple, and grapefruit. Hops are lively but not overly bitter. Some brown sugar is tasted. Solid toasty malt presence with a taste of sweet caramel, toffee, crackers, and biscuit. Its a really nicely balanced beer with some nice hop and malt flavors.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Creamy, juicy, and fairly slick. Very smooth.

Overall: A really good and interesting take on a Winter Warmer. Good hop spice and fruit esters with a solid malt balance.

Poured into a pint glass cloudy orange with a thick foamy head. Good lacing. Smells of fresh hops. But the taste isn't really all that great. There is a slight hop bite up front, but there is a weird taste after that that leads to a unflattery after taste. The mouthfeel is good, however I'd rather have a little more warmth from alcohol for this style.

Dark coppery brown, seems clearish. Pale tan head of pretty short duration. Dotty lace. A little pine to the malty aroma. Mouthfeel is shy of medium but seems overall creamy due to scant carbonation. Flavor impression strikes as slightly gingerbread malt with a touch of a minty aspect. Finishes with barely discernable hops but a building fruitcake character and a flattish tone. Not a bad beer for the time of year, a little festive, but despite the claim on the bottle, this is a pretty transparent unfiltered brew.

Appears cloudy nearly opaque amber almost marron hued nice sized caramel tan head leaves fine lacing. Aroma contains a great hop profile christmas tree esque piney character nice doughy malt not overly sweet thank god no holiday spices to kill it finishes a bit citrusy sort of celebration like but unique and it's own. Taste is one great hoppy winter warmer once again thanking the beer gods that some brewers leaves out holiday spices and substitue semi sweet caramel malt profiles with yeasty bread chacter blended with a wallop of pine cone and citrus flavored hops, nicely done. Mouthfeel is medium bodied texture is silky smooth of course carbonation is perfect why mess it up now. Drinkability effortless b/c it's so good yet challenging due to the flavors that one could without a doubt crave.